Is Sugar-free Lemonade Acidic or Alkaline?
Lemonade, sugar-free (prepared) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Apart from water, carbonation, sweetener and flavoring, sugar-free lemonade contains nothing that goes into the PRAL calculation, so it's at 0.0. At 1 kcal per 100 ml, it saves almost all the calories of the sugared version. For your acid-base balance, though, it makes no difference which one you drink. Both count like water.
In the Drinks category, sugar-free lemonade (prepared) ranks #66 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Energy drink (sweetened) (0.0), Agave syrup (0.0), Tap water (−0.1). More acid-forming are Bubble tea (milk tea with tapioca) (+0.1), Gin (+0.1), Korn (grain spirit) (+0.1).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sugar-free lemonade acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Lemonade, sugar-free (prepared) has a PRAL of 0.0 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does sugar-free lemonade count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At 0.0 per 100 ml, sugar-free lemonade is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Lemonade, Sugar-free logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.